A huge win for The Monkeys

September 15, 2017

The Monkeys has become the lead creative agency for IAG and its stable of brands, which includes NRMA Insurance and CGU Insurance, replacing M&C Saatchi without a competitive pitch.

The move comes after IAG’s appointment of a new chief marketing officer, Brent Smart, in February. Smart has a huge career in advertising behind him and a strong creative vision for IAG and its brands. He was a group account director at M&C Saatchi from 1997 to 2004.

Smart joined IAG from Saatchi & Saatchi New York, where he had been chief executive officer for nearly three years and worldwide managing director for two years prior to that. He has also been managing director of BBDO San Francisco (2 years) and Colenso BBDO (4 years & 9 months).

“We strongly believe The Monkeys have the right creative pedigree, strategic vision and cultural fit,” Smart commented. “This appointment means we have made the decision not to renew our contract with our incumbent partner M&C Saatchi. We have valued the work we achieved together during our three-year partnership, but feel now is the time to move on.

“We have huge creative aspirations for our brands and The Monkeys is the right partner to help us realise those aspirations. We just love their obsession with the work, believe in their team’s strategic vision and feel there is a real cultural fit with our new marketing team. I would also like to recognise the contribution M&C Saatchi has made to our business over the past 3 years and thank their team for their hard work and dedication, we wish them nothing but success.”

Mark Green, group chief executive officer of The Monkeys: “We love working with ambitious clients and Brent and the team at IAG will be great partners. The team at The Monkeys cannot wait to get started.”